AUTHOR=Bakirbas Ahmet , Walker Elsbeth L. 

TITLE=CAN OF SPINACH, a novel long non-coding RNA, affects iron deficiency responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1005020

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1005020

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA molecules with functions independent of any protein-coding potential. A whole transcriptome (RNA-seq) study of Arabidopsis shoots under iron sufficient and deficient conditions was carried out to determine the genes that are iron-regulated in the shoots. We identified two previously unannotated transcripts on chromosome 1 that are significantly iron-regulated. We have called this iron-regulated lncRNA, <italic>CAN OF SPINACH</italic> (<italic>COS</italic>). <italic>cos</italic> mutants have altered iron levels in leaves and seeds. Despite the low iron levels in the leaves, <italic>cos</italic> mutants have higher chlorophyll levels than WT plants. Moreover, <italic>cos</italic> mutants have abnormal development during iron deficiency. Roots of <italic>cos</italic> mutants are longer than those of WT plants, when grown on iron deficient medium. In addition, <italic>cos</italic> mutant plants accumulate singlet oxygen during iron deficiency. The mechanism through which <italic>COS</italic> affects iron deficiency responses is unclear, but small regions of sequence similarity to several genes involved in iron deficiency responses occur in <italic>COS</italic>, and small RNAs from these regions have been detected. We hypothesize that <italic>COS</italic> is required for normal adaptation to iron deficiency conditions.</p>